Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

We are still looking at the Hebrew word "tiqwa" - one of the Old Testament synonyms translated by the word "hope".  We have looked at two passages where this word is found in the book of Job.  Job's friends, at least at first, sought to give him some hope in the midst of his great sufferings.  We have seen that a Biblical hope is connected with our personal relationship to God and is based upon His great power. (See the previous two posts.)  The next positive reference to hope in the book of Job comes from the lips of Zophar in Job 11:18 - "And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope ...".  Unfortunately, Zophar is also convinced that Job's suffering has been caused by his sinfulness, and so he admonishes Job to repent (vs. 13,14).  This, of course, would be the right counsel if Job was not already right with God!  Zophar, however, rightly connects the message of hope to the necessity of repentance and restoration to God's favor whenever sin or sinfulness is the issue.  Despite the lack of relevance to Job's situation, the truth remains that true hope is found by the sinner through repentance and faith.  Zophar presents a vivid picture of the steps of true repentance:  1) "Prepare thine heart" - the heart must return to God first, then all else may follow, but not until then!  Delitzsch in his commentary on the book of Job states that this phrase "signifies to direct the heart", that is, to "give it the right direction towards God".  We may compare other passages that speak of this preparation of the heart:  Ps.78:8; I Sam.7:3; II Chr.20:33.  2) "Stretch out thine hands toward Him" - the hands are stretched out in supplication to God, reaching out to Him as it were in prayer.  3) "put iniquity far away"; "let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles" - be willing to forsake your sins in both your hands and your home.  A true change of heart and confession of sin will lead to a change in behavior!  And now, these conditions having been met, there is hope!  Once again a number of promises attach themselves to this hope.  We may summarize verses 15-19 as a series of freedoms:

Freedom from guilt (no spots on the face) ; freedom from fear (stated several ways); freedom from the miseries of the past (as waters that pass away); freedom from darkness (clearer than noonday and shining as the morning); and freedom from worry (security, rest and peace everywhere you dig about you!).  Yes there IS hope:  a security and safety, life and light, peace and rest that is found in knowing that our sins have been forgiven and forgotten once repented of and covered in the blood of the Lamb through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!